The present invention generally relates to a baseball swing training aid. More particularly, the present invention relates to a baseball swing training aid having a collapsible tee for storage within the lid of the corresponding container.
Baseball tees designed to aid in the training of a batting swing are generally known in art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,838 to Griffin discloses a baseball batting tee having a self-righting, semi-spherical weighted bottom portion with an axially upstanding post removably fixed thereto. An inverted conical helical spring attached at the top of the post is configured for reception of a ball thereon. The semi-spherical weighted bottom portion helps maintain the post in a substantially upright position as a batter swings through the ball. The weighted bottom portion helps offset any force against the post in the event that the tee is struck during the course of a swing. But, the tee disclosed in the '838 patent is not collapsible for easy portability or storage.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,124 to Pecoraro discloses an automatic batting tee apparatus having a housing capable of gravity feeding a plurality of balls onto an associated tee. Reloading the top of the tee is accomplished by actuating a lever mechanism that dispenses a ball from the housing and onto the tee. The balls are fed through this housing during operation, but the tee itself is not able to store balls within its housing during transportation.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,175 to Mooney discloses a batting tee having a ball mount position lower relative to the other batting tee components. The batting tee includes a base, an upright support, and a swing arm wherein the mount for the ball is integral to the end of the swing arm opposite the end mounted to the upright support. The swing arm is pivotally and telescopically movable relative to the upright so that the vertical height of the ball position may be varied. Most notably, this batting tee is bulky and incapable of storing balls.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,445 to Tanner discloses a durable batting tee having an elongated split washer to provide friction between telescoping parts in the stem without requiring tightening adjustments by a user. While the disclosed batting tee is collapsible, the tee is not capable of storing a number of balls therein for portability.
Accordingly, there is a need for a baseball swing training aid that is collapsible and capable of storing a plurality of balls therein to increase portability. Such a baseball swing training aid should also be compact to ease transportation and storage. There is an additional need for a baseball swing training aid that is easily movable between storage and use configurations and that relies on minimal support for maintaining the tee in an upright configuration. Accordingly, such a baseball swing training aid should include a collapsible tee storable within the container lid to prevent interference with the balls stored within the container during storage. There is a further need for a baseball swing training aid that is economical and easy to manufacturer. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.